


Need

by Cunninglinguist



Category: Rickyl - Fandom, The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Angsty Schmoop, Awkward Daryl, Blushing Daryl, Bottom Daryl, Close call, Communication Failure, Daryl In Love, Daryl loves sucking cock, Established Relationship, Established Rickyl, Face-Fucking, Feelings, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Fucking on watch duty, Gay Sex, Light Angst, M/M, Maggie has terrible timing, Moody Daryl, Oral Sex, Outdoor Sex, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Prison, Rick loves Daryl, Rickyl, Season/Series 04, Shameless Smut, Smut, Sort of shy Daryl, These boys are not good with feelings, Top Rick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-03
Updated: 2014-11-03
Packaged: 2018-02-23 22:01:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2557265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cunninglinguist/pseuds/Cunninglinguist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rick and Daryl have a close call on a supplies run. Afterwards, Daryl can't deal with his feelings and Rick tries to assist. Porn ensues.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Need

**Author's Note:**

> Well hey again! After Stillness got so much positive feedback (300+ kudos already, wow!), I decided to throw some more porn your way. Here's a little something I started during season 4 and finished up recently. Major liberties taken with the timeline and the layout of the prison. Y'all's kudos and comments give me life!
> 
> I don't own any of the Walking Dead, etc., this story is unbeta'd and all mistakes are my own.

Daryl stormed into the common area and slammed his bag full of supplies down on the table before stalking out and up the stairs to his cell. Michonne and Carol sat, shocked, at the table as Rick stumbled in after him, panting and covered in gore.

Leaning on the table in an attempt to steady himself, he asked, "Where'd he go?"

"Upstairs," said Michonne, cocking an eyebrow at him knowingly and reaching forward for the bag of newly acquired goods.

"He sure is in a mood," said Carol, looking up at Rick empathetically as he squeezed his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose between two fingers. 

"Looks like it was a good run." Michonne surveyed the sampling of new medical supplies, canned food, and other odds and ends laid out before her. She looked pointedly at Rick. "What happened?"

"S'nothin," replied Rick dismissively, reaching for a grimy looking rag on the back of a chair.

"Oh, yeah? Doesn't look like 'nothin'' to me." Michonne's face crinkled up. "You're covered in blood!"

"Yeah, well," said Rick, exasperated, scrubbing the cloth quickly over his face, "some walkers surprised us, snuck up on us, was a closer call than I'd like to admit."

Both Carol and Michonne said something that sounded like gratitude and happiness for their safe return, and with such bounty, but Rick had one thing only on his mind: the look on Daryl's face from across the room, at the pharmacy earlier, as the surprise walker had emerged from behind Rick and grabbed tightly onto his shoulder with his rancid, dead fingers. Rick managed to stab the putrid fucker through the brain, but not before he had stumbled and fallen over. Daryl had rushed over to him and pulled the walker off of him, unadulterated horror and panic written all over his face. He'd grabbed Rick's face with both hands, his eyes unfocused and wild, and choked out, "Y'alright?! Rick?? Ya bit?"

Once Rick had confirmed that he was ok, and that all the blood on him was the walker's, Daryl had hauled him up by the biceps and slammed him against the wall to roughly kiss the life out of him. He pulled back as quickly as he had started, rendering Rick dazed, lovestruck, and extremely aroused. The feeling hadn't lasted long. Daryl shoved Rick back into the wall, crowding him and getting in his face.

"What the fuck, Rick?" He shouted, spit flying from his mouth as he radiated pure fury. Rick had stepped forward, opening his mouth to respond, but Daryl had just let out a strangled noise and pushed him back against the wall, eyes stormy, before turning on his heel and high-tailing it out of the pharmacy, leaving a stunned, smarting Rick in his wake.

"You sure you don't want Hershel to take a look at you? Rick?" Carol's concerned voice brought Rick back to the prison, back to the present.

"Nah, I'm good, I swear," said Rick absentmindedly, making his way to the stairs. He had to find Daryl and make this right. He hoped he could. His insides twisted as he remembered that look, that fear...he couldn't remember the last time he'd seen Daryl looking so lost, so frightened. 

He hustled up the stairs, taking two at a time, and strode quickly over to Daryl's cell. It was empty. Heart pounding, he rushed to his own cell (which Daryl had taken to occupying quite frequently these days). No dice. 

Rick took a moment to lean against the wall. Ever since he and Daryl had (finally, FINALLY) gotten together, the biggest change in their dynamic (aside from the incredible new physical aspect to the relationship) had been the strengthening of the already formidable bond between them. In many ways, their communication had reached almost telepathic levels. Their deep mutual respect had grown exponentially over time, tried over and over again as they stared down unspeakable challenges, decisions, and horrors together. Even before their relationship had changed, Daryl had slowly started revealing a completely different, private side of himself to Rick that made a warm feeling grow in his chest, and Rick had felt beyond privileged that he had continued opening up as their rapport developed.

They hadn't attempted to hide their relationship from the group, but they hadn't loudly proclaimed it, either. They continued with their small, light, reassuring touches to one another (Daryl would glance shyly at Rick and pat his shoulder at the table over breakfast, or lovingly rub his stomach when he returned from a hunt in the woods, knowing it helped to remind Rick that he was there, helped soothe him). Of course, they still argued, and Daryl still got moody (he had taken to sulking when either he or Rick had to take the night watch and they couldn't spend the night in bed together, but Rick had found that it was impossibly easy to make that one up to him). They actually thought they were being pretty slick about keeping their relationship on the down low despite the fact that (unbeknownst to them) almost everyone had accidentally experienced at least one of their private moments...overhearing snippets of a hushed conversation between the two, or catching a glimpse of their thighs pressed against one another under the table, Rick's ankle crossed over Daryl's, or the way that they looked at each other when they thought no one was looking, or, in a particularly unfortunate instance for Maggie, overhearing little muffled groans in the boiler room, followed by Rick's unmistakable voice harshly whispering, "come, Daryl".

Rick roamed the prison, yet Daryl was nowhere in sight. Finally, as he approached the showers, he heard the sound of running water. He entered the room slowly, and was met with the sight of Glenn quickly scrubbing himself up. His heart sank.

"Hey, Rick," said Glenn, warily eying the gore-covered man as he stepped out and dried himself off. "You, uh, you alright?"

"Yeah, 'm fine, just ran into some walkers on the run earlier," he replied, hands on his hips. "Hey, you, uh, y'seen Daryl? He come through here?"

Glenn shrugged. "No, haven't seen him." He stepped into his pants and gestured to the shower. "It's all you."

Rick thanked him as he headed out of the room. Sighing, he peeled off his clothes and stood beneath the water, trying to wash away more than just the walker filth, attempting to clear his mind under the bursts of cold water.

**************

After he'd washed and changed into some less gory clothes, Rick had run into Maggie, who told him that Daryl had blown by her on his way to the watch tower. Sighing, Rick ambled up the tower steps. His heart skipped a beat as he finally laid eyes on Daryl, leaning on the his forearms against the railing, looking stonily out on the twilight, crossbow slung over his back. He looked gorgeous and dangerous, as usual, but also moodily pensive and closed off. Rick's heart tightened in his chest.

"Hey," he said quietly, shoving his hands into his pockets and stepping into Daryl's space. 

After a beat of silence and a quick, sidelong glance through his lashes, Daryl replied dismissively, "Hey."

Rick stepped behind him, tentatively wrapping his arms around his lover's waist. When he didn't get immediately rebuffed, he leaned in and rested his chin on Daryl's shoulder. Daryl huffed and did not look back at him.

"Wanna tell me what's wrong?" Rick asked softly against Daryl's ear.

Daryl exhaled audibly and hung his head low, his too-long hair grazing his bare forearms. "'M not tryin' to talk 'bout it," he mumbled, half-hearted ly attempting to shrug Rick off.

"Too bad," said Rick, holding him tighter. "You gotta."

Rick felt a frustrated grumble move through Daryl's body, and he weakly tried to shake him off again.

"Y'know, back there wasn't the first time we got snuck up on by walkers," said Rick. "An' I'm fine, an' you're fine, so, what's goin' on?"

With a sudden, violent strength, Daryl twisted himself out of Rick's embrace and turned to face him, piercing blue eyes blazing, voice high and tight. "Can't be worryin' 'bout you fuckin' up and gettin' yourself killed out there, Rick!"

Rick's heart was in his mouth, surprised at the sudden, almost wrathful outburst, not unlike the one he'd experienced earlier at the pharmacy. "We thought we cleared the place," he replied, attempting to keep his voice calm, even, and low. "You didn't see it, I didn't see it, but once I did...I handled it. Shit happens sometimes, Daryl."

"Not t'YOU, Rick! Shit CAN'T happen to you! What'm I s'posed-" Daryl's voice hitched. He took several deep inhales through his nose, lips forming a tense line. He averted his gaze from Rick and resumed his thought, his voice trembling and barely audible. "What am I s'posed to do, if somethin happened t'you?" 

Rick felt a powerful surge of emotion at Daryl's vulnerability, his heart squeezing in his chest and then melting into a puddle of warmth as he understood the reason for Daryl's tempestuous behavior. He reached forward to gently cup Daryl's face, rubbing his thumb over his cheekbone. "Daryl, look at me."

Daryl raised his eyes to Rick's, the earlier fire of rage extinguished by a vast, open sea of trepidation and fear. "Y'just fell an'...it was jus' on you, an' I felt...I didn't know what t'do," he mumbled.

Overcome, Rick gazed back into Daryl's eyes and said softly, "I'm here, Daryl, we're here."

Daryl's eyes closed and Rick gripped the back of his neck with his free hand and pressed their foreheads together, their labored breaths intermingling. Daryl reached his hand up to grasp Rick's forearm tightly as he swallowed and attempted to steady his breathing.

"You're here, you're here," he murmured, his grip tightening on Rick's forearm.

"I'm here with you," replied Rick as his nose grazed Daryl's cheek.

Suddenly, Daryl was crowding Rick, manhandling him up against the wall. He panted hard against Rick's neck, and his hands were clutching everywhere, rubbing roughly down his arms, rucking up his shirt and palming over his lower stomach. Arousal shot up Rick's spine. 

Rick swallowed hard when Daryl let out a little sigh and pressed the growing bulge in his pants against his leg. He was more than happy to just let Daryl keep him pinned to the wall as he submitted to his strong, calloused hands, his hot, questing mouth, and the delicious, slow grind of his hips. Chest heaving, Rick wound his fingers in Daryl's shirt as Daryl's mouth latched onto his collarbone and he sucked. He released the sensitive flesh from his teeth and blew on it. Rick shuddered and reached a hand down between their bodies, grasping for his partner's erection.

With a growl, Daryl simultaneously lifted his head to stare Rick boldly in the eye and yanked Rick's wrist away, pinning it to the wall beside his head. Rick couldn't contain his surprised gasp; he had never seen Daryl like this, seizing control of the situation, bending Rick to his whim. He would be lying if he said he didn't love it.

A searing, uncontrollable flame flared inside Rick. He pushed back against Daryl's powerful grasp, moving his free hand up to Daryl's hair. Daryl was too fast, reaching up to intercept that wrist too, pinning it above Rick's head. He then released his wrists and sank to his knees, eyes never leaving Rick's, nails raking down Rick's sides on the way. He mouthed at the weighty bulge of Rick's cock straining in his pants.

Rick rolled out his wrists before looking down and gently stroking Daryl's cheek. Daryl smirked at him and went to work unbuckling his belt and unzipping his jeans. Rick groaned in relief as his achingly hard cock was released and his pants simultaneously dropped around his ankles.

Sparing not three seconds, Daryl looked back up at Rick, blue eyes wide, as he relaxed his jaw and slowly took his cock all the way into his mouth.

"Christ!" Rick gritted his teeth, head banging back against the wall as Daryl eagerly licked and sucked him, letting out deep moans around his cock that made Rick bite down on his own fist. It was sloppy and desperate, and it was perfect. Daryl was drooling all up and down his length, licking down to his balls before sliding his tongue back up to the head and swallowing him down as far as he could. Looking up at Rick again, eyes dancing with mischief, Daryl reached up to roughly wrest one of Rick's hands down and place it on his head.

Rick grunted, firmly gripping Daryl's hair. Daryl pulled off Rick's cock, panting, a shiny string of spit trailing from the tip to his lower lip. Looking desperately up at Rick, he rasped, "C'mon, shove it down my throat. Please. I ain't gonna break."

Rick let out a long, shaky exhale, closing his eyes for a second as he was completely overwhelmed. He felt as though he was having an out of body experience. He had definitely noticed--and appreciated--Daryl's affinity for going down on him, since he enthusiastically dropped to his knees almost every time they engaged in any kind of amorous physical activity, but he had never seen Daryl beg to get his mouth fucked. Daryl was fucking incredible. Breathing heavily, Rick looked back down and slowly pushed his cock all the way back into Daryl's mouth until it hit the back of his throat. Daryl choked around it a little, breathing hard through his nose, eyes watering, but when Rick made to pull out Daryl clutched Rick's ass with both of his hands and pulled him forward aggressively.

"Fuck!" Rick choked out, hips stuttering. Daryl moaned and urgently pressed on Rick's ass again. Rick looked down at him, fiercely aroused by the way his beautiful mouth was stretched so wide around his cock, and by the way his eyes were clouded with desire as he stared back up at Rick from his knees. Shit. How was he so good at this? Rick's cock pulsed in the hot wetness of his mouth. An animalistic, wild sensation overcame him and he narrowed his eyes.

"Alright, this what y'want?" Rick asked harshly, yanking Daryl's head back roughly by his hair. Slowly, he pulled Daryl's mouth all the way off of his length and rubbed the spit slick tip all over his swollen lips before thrusting all the way back in. Daryl's grip tightened on Rick's ass as Rick started fucking his mouth, watching his cock slide almost all the way out before shoving back in until Daryl choked on it. Spit ran down his chin and tears ran down his face as he let Rick set a rough pace, but he was moaning and groaning in pleasure around Rick. 

"Christ, y'look so fuckin' sexy," Rick panted, heat pooling in his belly as he thrust brutally into Daryl's sweet mouth. "Gonna come down your throat, gonna--"

In a flash, Daryl had pulled off of Rick completely and was on his feet, kissing Rick savagely, teeth clacking, tongue spearing, claiming Rick's mouth with his own and leaving Rick breathless and stunned.

Daryl pulled back, breath ragged, wiping his mouth and face on the sleeve of his shirt. "Need t'feel you...in me," he whispered hoarsely, voice scratchy. "Need it now."

His eyes were possessed as his unsteady fingers came to Rick's shirt, which he pulled off in no time before removing his own clothes quicker than Rick had ever seen. Dazed and impossibly aroused, Rick didn't even try to get a word in. All the blood in his body had rushed south to his straining erection. His brain was moving in slow motion as he felt himself being seated on what he would later find to be his and Daryl's shirts, his back leaning against the wall. 

Daryl straddled his lap, stark naked, and their cocks brushed together for the first time that night. Daryl bit his lip and Rick gasped, moving his hands up to possessively grasp the tops of Daryl's quivering thighs."Daryl..."

Throwing a smoldering, hungry look at Rick, Daryl leaned over to grasp at his jeans, tossed aside on the ground. After a moment of fumbling and Rick running his hands up Daryl's legs to his sides, Daryl sat up with a packet of lube.

Rick's mouth quirked up in a smile as he rubbed the younger man's lower back with his palm. "You got slick in your back pocket?" 

Making an affirmative noise, Daryl nodded sheepishly before shrugging and saying, "well, y'never know."

Rick's heart was pounding as he surged forward to capture Daryl's lips in a kiss. They both shuddered at the sensation of their cocks rubbing together again. Rick rocked up against Daryl again, whose fingers dug into Rick's back as he bit down hard on his own lip and closed his eyes.

Rick pulled Daryl even closer, leaning in to kiss his neck as their hips moved against each other. He tried to take the lube from Daryl, who snatched it away before tearing it open and coating his own fingers with it. 

"Don't ya...y'dont want me to do it?" Rick breathed against his face, his hands sliding down Daryl's sweat slicked back to part his ass.

"Mmm..." Daryl's head dropped forward against Rick's shoulder as he felt Rick's sure fingers knead him apart. "Nah....no time. I got it." He recovered, slipping his fingers behind himself to brush past Rick's on the way.

Keeping his hands where they were, Rick looked up to watch Daryl's gorgeous face contort with the pleasurable effort of opening himself hurriedly for Rick. He was making these desperate little noises that set Rick on fire with want.

Their chests heaved together. Rick murmured filthy encouragement against Daryl's ear as Daryl's unoccupied hand squeezed Rick's shoulder for dear life, his cock dripping sticky sweet all over Rick's stomach.

"That's it," breathed Rick as Daryl shuddered and let out a loud groan, stilling for just a second before pulling his hand out and bracing it on the wall next to Rick's head.

"'M ready for it," he rasped, trembling thighs squeezing Rick as he lifted up and positioned himself right over Rick's swollen cock. 

"You sure?" Rick rubbed his hot length up against Daryl's opening, panting hard.

Daryl answered by slowly sitting down. He let out a slightly pained little grunt through gritted teeth as Rick's slick head breached him.

"Shit!" Ricks eyes slammed shut as Daryl's tight ass squeezed hotly around his cock. He dug his fingernails into Daryl's back. Pleasure raced through every cell in his body as he turned his face up to kiss the underside of Daryl's jaw gently. He doubted that he would ever get over how beautiful Daryl was, even though Daryl always cringed at the compliment. He also doubted he'd ever get over how incredible Daryl felt, how he was always impossibly hot, impossibly tight, how perfectly his body accommodated Rick.

As if reading his mind, Daryl sank down even further, his head falling back, not stopping until Rick's entire length throbbed inside of him.

"Ok?" Rick breathed, kissing along Daryl's collarbone, relishing the taste of his sweat. He wondered fleetingly if it would be possible to die from pleasure.

Daryl buried his face in Rick's hair and inhaled deeply, letting out a rumbling "mmm". His hands wound up under Rick's arms to clutch at his back, and with a harsh exhale, Daryl began to undulate his hips, his movements molasses-slow and torturously sweet as his cock smeared precome all over Rick's stomach. Rick held Daryl as close as he could, enveloped in the heat that burned between them, each sensuous roll of Daryl's hips bringing him closer to what he imagined must be some kind of god.

"Fuck, Rick, Rick, fuck, Rick,"sighed Daryl, his desperation reaching his voice. His fingers clutched at Rick as he swiveled his hips in the most glorious way, never pulling too far off, as if he were trying to remain as full of Rick's cock as possible.

"Look at you," Rick breathed reverently, the sight and feeling of Daryl keening and writhing on his cock sending his blood buzzing through his body. He struggled to get himself under control. He bent his knees and planted his feet to give himself some leverage and began to slightly grind his hips up against Daryl's. His palms and forearms were flush against Daryl's beautiful, muscular back, which he could feel shifting beneath his touch.

Rick slid his hands down Daryl's sides to dig his fingers into those lovely hips, right where the bones jutted out. He looked down between their bodies to where his partners thick, heavy erection slid through the shiny mess on his stomach, and then lower, where he was met with the mind-melting visual of the place where his cock was almost completely buried in Daryl's body.

"Mmm, jus' like that, yeah, ride me so good...so good, Daryl." Rick pressed the side of his stubbly face and his open mouth against the delicious, sensitive flesh on Daryl's neck, letting out low groans against it. He was overcome with emotion as he nuzzled against Daryl's rapid pulse, feeling the life coursing through his veins, and felt his own body humming in response. "You're mine, Daryl."

"Rick, Rick, Rick, Rick..." Daryl was fucking whimpering Rick's name like it was the only word he knew, almost like it was a prayer, punctuating each one with a roll of his hips. It almost sounded like he was crying, his hands twisting in Rick's too-long hair, his hips beginning to move erratically, hard cock slippery wet and burning against Rick's stomach. "I can't---'m gonna--Rick, I can't--I need--"

Heat ripped through Rick's body as he felt Daryl clenching around him, losing control above him. Nothing got him going more than bringing Daryl to orgasm. Possessed by his arousal, Rick gripped Daryl tight and pulled his body as tightly as possible to his own before latching his lips inexorably to Daryl's beautiful neck and thrusting his hips up hard, over and over into that perfect body until Daryl seized up, buried his face in Rick's hair and let out a sob as he came hard all over Rick's taught abs.

"Fuck yeah, that's it, come baby, so good for me," growled Rick, unable to control the things coming out of his mouth as he hurdled rapidly towards his own orgasm, not slowing his pace as Daryl shuddered and gasped. With a final thrust and a feral cry that ripped through the silence of the night, Rick arched against the wall and exploded deep inside of Daryl.

As his brain slowly unfucked itself and descended from the apex of his absurd orgasm, Rick felt Daryl breathing shallowly and nuzzling against his sweaty neck. He made to carefully lift Daryl off of his cock, but he resisted. "Nah," he whispered brokenly into Rick's ear. "Not yet."

"Alright," Rick chuckled, planting little kisses on Daryl's forehead. "That was...that was so good," he praised softly, kissing down his face. He pulled back, alarmed, when he noticed fresh wetness on Daryl's lovely flushed cheeks.

Rick furrowed his brow in concern as he swiped a thumb over the tear stains. "You ok? Did I....did I hurt ya?"

Daryl looked away, embarrassed, bringing the heels of his hands up to wipe the residue away. "Nah, nothin' like that....wasn't nothin'."

"S'ok, Daryl. C'mon, just tell me." Neither Rick nor Daryl was particularly adept at communicating like this, about feelings, always trusting and hoping that the other would be able to just know, but Rick could feel Daryl shutting him out now and he couldn't stand that.

Irritated, Daryl ran his hands through his hair. "Wasn't nothin' Rick, just..." He paused, inhaling deeply. Not looking at Rick, he mumbled, "jus' glad we made it back here earlier, s'all."

Rick's eyes softened and a smile tugged at the corners of his lips. The thought of Daryl getting emotional during sex was incredibly endearing and he desperately wanted to make a fuss over it, or at least talk about it some more, but he knew that Daryl would not respond well to that.

Having nearly completely regained his composure, Daryl narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Rick. "Quit lookin' at me like that, wasn't nothin'." 

With a groan, Daryl shakily pulled off of Rick's softening cock and stood. He extended a hand to Rick, who was still looking at him with dewy eyes and a dopey smile. Rick could tell Daryl was fighting his own urge to return the smile as he pulled Rick to standing.

Uncaring of the sticky mess on his stomach and the ache in his back, Rick wrapped Daryl in a hug. After a pause, Daryl returned the affection, rubbing his hands over Rick's back and burying his face in his neck.

"Never gonna leave you, y'know that, right?" whispered Rick. Daryl's grip tightened on Rick. Rick kissed his shoulder and rubbed his back.  
"You'll always be stuck with me, always be mine."

Daryl relaxed in his grip and gently pulled away, playfully pushing Rick's shoulder. "I know that, ya big baby," he mumbled, smiling. He reached down to grab the shirts Rick had been sitting on. Looking down indecisively at both, he shrugged before using Rick's shirt to wipe the cum from his stomach. Rick laughed and snatched his shirt from  
Daryl, warmth spreading through him. He knew he loved Daryl, he had always loved Daryl, and he knew Daryl loved him. It didn't matter that they hadn't said it aloud (well, maybe Rick had whispered it, barely audibly, into Daryl's sleeping ear a handful of times, but nobody needed to know about that). Maybe they'd never say it, but it didn't matter, not when Daryl was looking at him *like that* as he pulled his pants up, blue eyes dreamy, not when Rick was basking in the surreal high of Daryl's affection, feeling unstoppable and glorious and complete.

"Hey, Daryl, I'll take--oh!" Rick was startled from his post-coital, Dixon-centric reverie by Maggie, who stood frozen in the doorway, gun slung  
over her shoulder and surprise written all over her face.

Rick, still shirtless, looked over at Daryl, who was midway through buttoning up his own shirt, the hickey on his neck prominently displayed, just staring at Maggie. 

"Uh," she said, blush flooding her cheeks. "I'll, uh." She slowly backed up to the inside and quietly shut the door.

Stunned, Daryl and Rick turned to gape at each other for a moment before Rick snorted a laugh that evolved into a burst of uncontrollable giggles. Daryl laughed along, too, though he was clearly mortified.

"Oops," said Daryl, his face tinged with pink. He shrugged his vest on and pushed his too long hair out of his eyes. Rick smiled at him and pulled on his dirty t-shirt.

"Now she knows," said Rick, stepping into Daryl's space and softly kissing his face. Daryl looked even more embarrassed, face flushing a bright red.

"S'ok," he mumbled, half smiling as he bent to get his crossbow. He winced on his way back up. 

"Yeah, you're gonna be feelin' that for a day or two," said Rick, grinning, blood rushing unbidden to his groin once again at the fresh memory of their coupling.

"No shit," replied Daryl lowly. He brushed his hair out of his face, looking hesitant. "S'ok...wanted it that way."

Rick lightly ran his hand up and down Daryl's bicep, dipping his head to maintain eye contact. "'Cause of earlier?"

Daryl nodded. There was a pregnant pause between the two before Daryl smirked, eyes flitting up to Rick's. "Y'called me that thing I said not t'call me...during, when I was....y'know."

Rick knitted his eyebrows together, confused, as new blush flooded Daryl's face and he sucked his lips between his teeth. "What thing?"

Daryl rolled his eyes and shifted his weight from his right leg to his left, readjusting the weapon on his shoulder. "Y'know...'baby'."

"Oh, yeah. That." Rick bowed his head sheepishly. "I know y'dont like pet names like that, uh, s'just that it felt so good an' I couldn't uh, couldn't keep track of what I was sayin'..."

Daryl licked his lips and leaned forward to kiss Rick on the lips, effectively silencing him. With a lopsided smile, he said,"S'alright. Jus'...don't get used to it."

"Ok," Rick whispered back, brushing his nose against Daryl's. 

"Alright," said Daryl, pulling back to again readjust the crossbow on his back and looking at Rick through his lashes. "Let's go say sorry to Maggie and give her a turn at keepin' a lookout."

Rick beamed back at him and rubbed his shoulder. "Let's."


End file.
